Reviews

The Emperor's Edge Collection by Lindsay Buroker

loonytoons's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

So good

lunaty's review

4.0

You know when sometimes you feel like reading something a little different? Something that has your favourite elements but does not constantly make you angsty? You know, simply a cleverly laid out adventure which a bunch of solid characters and no bull...? That is what The Emperor's edge was like for me. The series had me thoroughly entertained till the end, and that is no easy feat when it spans a full 7 books! Set in a world with strong steampunk elements and a dash of scifi, it is bound to fall a little out of the box but has something to suit almost anyone.

Let me start by saying I love our main girl Amaranthe. She is smart, she is funny, and overall she does not feel sorry for herself whilst trying to turn each bad situation into an opportunity. She is not 'pretty' or 'special', but comes up with plans and acts on them, with or without help from the others which I can appreciate. She is creative too, which she demonstrates in  becoming a leader to a gang full of flawed guys. Pushing them toward a goal benefiting each on of them and help a kingdom full of unrest. Man if that is not a kick ass accomplishment, I dont know what is..

The crew is made up out of very diverse characters. All with their own strengths and weaknesses. Not have I had so much fun reading about a male assassin since Poison Study. 

And what about other things such as romance you ask?.. Yeah readers looking for that may be a little disappointed. Whilst there is a little tug on the cord that is meant to have our team banners flying, it is most definitely more of an adventure as a whole. Instead you can expect a slow and realistic build up. If anything this book has a great flair of capturing relationships in a good way, be it on friendship, family or love.

The multiple POV's have been worked out great. There are generally 2 main POV's for each book. Each instalment features a different team member and our main girl. It's extremely clever as it keeps you diving in for more and get a more in depth glimpse of them. I absolutely love to get to know their way of thinking and their view of the situations as they face them. The backdraw of the approach is that some of the characters might not be everyone's cup of tea, I definitely gravitated toward some and others did end up grinding on me a bit.. (Akstyr *Cough*). 

I was really looking forward to reading Maldynado's side of the adventure. He is probably my favorite characters of the group . His inappropriate sense of humor and the fact he takes it all in his stride makes him extremely likeable. However since I was really looking forward to his insight, the actual book with his POV was slightly disappointing to me. Hoping for a deeper look into him, the only thing that really got shown was the amount of hostility toward him. No deeper insight was given of his inner workings and instead the book got filled with mindless banter between him and Yara. Yeah, I am sad to say I am not a big fan of Yara. To me she is Amaranthe's clone with a few male tendencies and a foul mood 80% of the time. The pairing could be seen a mile away so there was no surprise there, but I would have liked to see him actually get a lady he deserves and she just.. mehh...he desevred better.. (if you ever come to your senses, you know where to find me Maldynado.. XD)

 

The next 2 instalments are with Sicarius's shared POV. And another one I have really been hanging out for! His character is probably the hardest to get to know through the others, making him appear as an incredible hard ass without much of a conscious or any aptitude for emotion. And you know what else? I was really pleasantly suprised with how much more is in his character. I would have expected Sicarius to really be a bit more stoic or at least his neutral self.. Instead there is so much more wanders through his mind at times. If anything, it has made me love this series even more. 

By this stage I got a little sad that the series was heading to an end. Ohh boy was it working up to one hell of a finale. How can it not. A good dose of alien technology, political overthrowing, battles of armies and magic combined with more of Amaranthe's crazy schemes. It literally had me feeling like the GIF below:

What about the ending you ask?!.Well lets just say, it winds up all the craziness neatly...

 

A lot of what has been hinted throughout the books comes to a good conclusion. I was caught a bit of guard at a certain 'event' at the end and was still waiting for it to be some grand scheme that they where pulling.. I can not give to much away here but needless to say , I got depressed. It took away from the grandiose 'Happily ever after' I was hoping for. The Epilogue however made up for it however and saved me from a melancholic death.

 

Okay, so apart from that little explosive going off in my brain, I highly recommend this series to anyone that enjoys a good action packed fantasy steampunk series.. Yes there where certainly moments where I got a bit distracted and had to concentrate to get back into it, but I finished all 7 instalments after one another without reading other any books in between'.. that in itself is a awesome accomplishment so kudos to Ms Buroker.

z_bookfluencer's review

5.0

I have read and reread this series. I find it enjoyable and well written.

rebeccazh's review

3.0

I guess this series is just not for me. I tried to get into it but am still not feeling it after three books.

suflet's review

5.0

Enjoying rereading

I love this series and am enjoying rereading it. Basilard is one of my favorite characters outside Amaranthe and Sicarius, and this installment with his perspective was great.

kdf_333's review

5.0

ugh. i have no idea how i got this trilogy on my Kindle. i am a cheapskate. i only buy books that cost 99cents. maybe if it is a really good study (nonfic) book i'll pay full price. so to get a 3 book collection on my Kindle it must have been free or on sale. either way. i don't remember how i got i. i was bored and decided to actually read it. and i was hooked. books 4-9 are NOT 99cents. sigh. they are $5 and$6. sigh. i may actually buy a FICTION series for my Kindle.

why you say? um cuz it is that freaking good.
this story has soooooo many things i love.
1. plucky cute kickass heroine
2. a lil romance
3. witty repartee and just plain fun
4. a cool team full of characters that are different and all have their own complex stories that you can't wait to discover
5. adventure/action
6. a lil supernatural not a lot
7. different worlds and peoples but it doesn't take 6 chapters to explain the world the story is in.
8. redemption of the characters- they need forgiving/pardoning
9. Viva la revolución = government needs to change and they are helping to do it.
10. the books end with you knowing another adventure is about to take place but the ones in that novel are done and finished. you are not left with that kind of cliffhanger but more like "ok... this is about to happen and another layer of so and so's personality/past is going to be revealed in the next novel.

basically like a Joss Whedon tv show/film. a group of folks only with more depth and less witty repartee fighting for a cause. adventures ensue; missions fail/succeed. sometimes they are working with the govt; sometimes running from it but there intent is always for good. their world is not real but not so fantastical you need a separate book to understand it. just so good. so very good. sigh.

so i went and read the book summaries on amazon for volumes 4-9. something i don't normally do since i read so much, blurbs/book covers by publishers always give too much away. but since i was like i am not buying them anytime soon i NEED to know what i am missing. that was a Mistake. i am actually contemplating spending $50 on these books. FICTION books!!! trust me when i tell you i do not buy fiction books. that is why God invented a library, used books, and sales on Amazon.

i am going to see if i have reward points on my credit card so i can get an Amazon gift card. i mean, it goes against everything in me to BUY fiction books i know i will only read once at full price. i just can't. so if anybody want to donate to the cause...inbox me. ;-)

ashleethurman's review

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sistergrimmloch's review

5.0

I'm a big fan of Lindsay Buroker's Dragon Blood books and The Emperor's Edge series has NOT disappointed in the least. The world is incredibly detailed, the characters well developed, and I just COULD NOT STOP READING! I really enjoyed that each book focused on the POV of two different characters and their narratives are unique and distinctive, the storytelling is wonderful.

I will always recommend Buroker and she is one of the few authors I return time and time again to purchase new series from.

mardorko's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

5.0

eve_boobies's review

5.0

This is officially one of my favourite book series.

Book 1: Bloody loved it! The characters are so fun and lovable, not to mention the great plot. i was never bored/ It met every marker for me. The action was great, the comedy was delicios and I even found myself caring for most of the characters (it's only usually one or two). Overall, it was a pleasure to read.

Book 2: Beautiful. Loved seeing Book's POV and learning how much he actually cares about Amaranthe and the rest of the gang. How heartwarming. Also, that confession? Wa wa wee wa - that was my reaction.

Book 3: Another great addition to the Emperors Edge series. I'm really loving it. In this one we had a greater look into Basilard's life which was fasinating. Not to mention that we were introduced to a new character who I'd like to see more of in the following books, and that I thought we saw some great interactions between Amaranthe and Maldynado (who is one of my favs). But I must mention, there was one particular chapter that really got me going. Chapter 19 - Oh m goodness, I couldn't stop smiling. I finally got what I'd been waiting for (kinda).

Overall, I am loving this. i really can't wait to read the next installation. Bravo.